Patient-centred care in the context of pharmacy consultations: A qualitative study with patients and pharmacists in Malaysia

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Patient-centred care (PCC) has been increasingly recognized as the standard in current health care, especially when it comes to health communication between patients and health care professionals. The evidence suggests that PCC could potentially improve medication-related outcomes such as medication adherence, disease self-management, and patient-provider relationships. Pharmacists are strategically positioned in the health care system to provide medication management to patients. However, there is a paucity of research regarding PCC in pharmacist-patient consultations. This study aimed to explore the views and experiences of pharmacists and patients on the important aspects of a PCC consultation.

METHODS: A semistructured interview study was conducted among 17 patients and 18 pharmacists in three tertiary hospitals in Malaysia. All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Themes were developed using a constant comparison approach and thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Five main themes emerged from the data, namely, achieving mutual understanding, recognizing individuality, communication style, information giving, and medication decision making. For both pharmacists and patients, a PCC consultation should promote mutual understanding and non-judgmental discussions. Communication was an important element to bridge the gap between patients' and pharmacists' expectations. Patients emphasized the importance of emotional aspects of the consultation, while pharmacists emphasized the importance of evidence-based information to support patient engagement and information needs.

CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of pharmacists' and patients' views provided insight towards important aspects of PCC in pharmacist-patient consultations. It was suggested that PCC is not a one-sided approach but rather a patient-provider collaboration to optimize the consultation. Further research can be done to improve the integration of PCC in the local health care context, including pharmacist consultations.